Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences – serie

This second edition was undertaken to update information which has become available since the first edition and to convert completely to the SI system. The main objective of this book is to stress application of soil physics principles to real problems. The problems are heavily oriented toward the soil­ water-plant-atmosphere continuum. This book grew out of a course taught to upper level undergraduate and graduate students from many different disciplines and backgrounds. I have found that problems are a very good teaching tool because students need to solve them on their own and adapt them to their own understanding. I have found this problem-solving experience to be greatly enhanced if examples are available. Thus, this book is heavily laden with examples. This edition includes reference to many models, involving basic concepts discussed herein, by which it is possible to solve many more realistic--and more complex--problems such as drainage below the root zone (and associated pollution), plant growth as related to climate, soil properties, management, etc. The intent is to encourage students to advance to the next level. The book is not intended to be a complete introduction to applied soil physics, but rather to emphasize problem-solving and the important aspects of soil water and temperature.

I have for a number of years taught a course in population genetics for students interested in plant and animal breeding. The objective of the course has been to lay a foundation in population genetics for the concepts of quantitative genetics which are introduced in the last third of the course. I have not been able to find an appropriate text for this purpose. For a quarter of a century, Falconer's Introduction to Quantitative Genetics has been the standard, and excellent, text in that subject. For my purposes, however, this text is not sufficiently detailed in the population genetics basis for quantitative theory. A number of good texts in population genetics are available, of which Li's First Course in Population Genetics is didactically the best. But these texts are directed toward the genetics of natural populations, rather than domestic populations, breeding under human control. They also tend to treat quantitative genetics gingerly, if at all. I have therefore developed the present text from my teaching notes. The chapters of this book are labeled "Lectures". Each is intended to correspond approximately to the amount of material which can be covered in a 50-minute lecture. Divisions are, of course, dictated by the natural divisions of the subject matter, and the lectures are therefore not of uniform length. Nevertheless, in so far as possible, an attempt has been made to make the average length a lecture's worth.

The Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences is designed to ftll a long-felt need for advanced educational and technological books in the agricultural sciences. These texts, intended primarily for students of agriculture, should also provide up-to-date technical background reading for the many agricultural workers in extension services, educational systems, or international bodies. The editors of Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences will select key subjects relating to the agricultural environment, agricultural physics and chemistry, soil science, plant sciences, animal sciences, food technology, and agricultural engineering for a critical and synthetic appraisal. An initial theoretical presentation will be used by authors of individual volumes in the series to develop a technical approach-including examples and practical solutions- to each subject. In addressing the advanced undergraduate and early graduate student of agriculture, selected authors will present the latest information, leavened with the lessons learned from their own experience, on precise and well-defined topics. Such books that widen the horizons of the student of agriculture can serve, too, as useful reference sources for the young specialist in the early years of his career. Many specialists who are involved in teaching agricultural science are isolated from universities and research institutions. This series will bring them up-to-date scientific information, thus keeping them in touch with progress. The basic objective of Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences is to effect a structural integration of the theoretic and technical approaches to agriculture.

The Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences is designed to fill a long-felt need for advanced educational and technological books in the agricultural sciences. These texts, intended primarily for students of agriculture, should also provide up-to-date technical background reading for the many agricultural workers in extension services, educational systems, or international bodies. The editors of Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences will select key subjects relating to the agricultural environment, agricultural physics and chemistry, soil science, plant sciences, animal sciences, food technology, and agricultural engineering for a critical and synthetic appraisal. An initial theoretical presentation will be used by authors of individual volumes in the series to develop a technical approach~including examples and practical solutions~ to each subject. In addressing the advanced undergraduate and early graduate student of agriculture, selected authors will present the latest information, leavened with the lessons learned from their own experience, on precise and well-defined topics. Such books that widen the horizons of the student of agriculture can serve, too, as useful reference sources for the young specialist in the early years of his career. Many specialists who are involved in teaching agricultural science are isolated from universities and research institutions. This series will bring them up-to-date scientific information, thus keeping them in touch with progress. The basic objective of Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences is to effect a structural integration of the theoretic and technical approaches to agriculture.

One of the points clearly stressed in the beginning of this book is that the essential feature of any dynamic system is change and that, where there is change, there may also be growth and evolution. Plant breeding and plant protection have grown and evolved considerably during the past century; they have also witnessed several, important Hegelian changes. This book, by R.A.Robinson, is just such a change in scientific thinking. It is unique in presenting an entirely new insight to plant-parasite relationships, and in providing a practical guide for managing plant pathosystems for man's advantage in agriculture. The author brings together for the first time in a holistic manner the various plant protection and breeding disciplines; he analyses their past limitations and deficiencies and throws useful new light on the nature of parasitism. From this he is able to gain a clear understanding of the functions of the various pathosystem components. On the basis of this understanding he then proposes practical ways for using these components to achieve and maintain the type of balance which is the basis of survival in any evolutionary system, including that of man himself. All this is done in a lively and elegant manner, using logic as the main driving force to elucidate and define entirely new concepts without obstruse mathematical or biochemical formulae.

The subject area embraced by the term "biological control" in its classical sense is very broad indeed. The term itself was apparently first used in 1919 by the late Harry S. Smith, and was then used specifically in reference to the suppression of insect populations by the actions of their indigenous or introduced natural enemies. The California school of biological control specialists who followed in Smith's footsteps have traditionally differentiated "natural" biological control (by indigenous natural enemies) and "applied" biological control (by man-introduced natural enemies). Subsequently, the philosophy broadened beyond the original narrow concern with population suppression of insects (and especially pest insects), to embrace directed activities against mites or other arthropod pests, various invertebrate and vertebrate pests, weeds, and organisms producing disease in humans or their domestic animals and plants. The techniques used in these activities also multiplied beyond the original concern with natural enemies. The subjects area discussed in this book is, at the same time, broader and more restricted than that covered in other books on "biological control. " On the one hand, the treatment here is restrictive in that, with rare exception, we have limited ourselves to dealing only with ideas and examples involving the suppression of insect pests through human activity or intervention in the environment.

The change in greenhouse operation and technology in the last 20 years has been unprecedented. Photoperiodic control, mist propagation, green­ house cooling, clean stock programs, CO injection, to name a few, have 2 all been inaugurated as regular greenhouse practices in this time. The introduction of new markets, new production centers, shifts in public attitudes, and the realization that greenhouse production is not simply growing crops, but the management of an enterprise in which people work, h~ve combined to make this agricultural practice a challenging and rewarding vocation. The greenhouse grower, manager, and student who are training for this vocation have not had an up-to-date text book for many years. It has been our goal to bring both published and unpublished work together in this book, and to provide a bench mark from which we can continue to move forward. It is not until a process of writing a text begins that one fully realizes how far we have come-and where we need to go. It is with some sadness that we realize that this book is not likely to remain long as an expression of the state-of-the-art. We do not expect it to be easy reading; for new terms, new technology, and new ways of doing things are not always easy.

As befits a volume in the Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences, this book was written with problems of practical agriculture in mind. One of the ways of controlling plant disease is by using resistant cultivars; and from the wide literature of genetics and biochemistry in plant pathology I have emphasized what seems to bear most closely on breeding for disease resistance. This has a double advantage, for it happens all to the good that this emphasis is also an emphasis on primary causes of disease, as distinct from subsequent processes of symptom expression and other secondary effects. The chapters are entirely modern in outlook. The great revolution in biology this century had its high moments in the elucidation of the DNA double helix in 1953 and the deciphering of the genetic code in 1961. This book, so far as I know, is the first in plant pathology to be conceived within the framework of this new biology. Half the book could not have been written 20 years ago, even if there had then been available all the literature that has since accumulated on the genetics and chemistry of plant disease. The new biology is the cement this book uses to bind the literature together. Another feature of this book is an emphasis on thermodynamics.

The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with some basic information applicable to cattle feeding. It is intended to adapt some of the basic principles of nutrition in applied form. During the past few decades there have been various changes in type and form of feeds available for livestock feeding due to new kinds of equipment. Mechanization has made it possible to perform certain opera­ tions of the beef production program more efficiently and economically. With all the new innovations and advances in animal nutrition combined with the capabilities of the computer, it becomes very challenging for everyone to keep up to date on the latest information in the field of cattle feeding and production. The text was written with the intent of utilizing the raw materials, facilities, equipment, etc. which are available in the United States. The terminology of certain materials such as feed ingredients will vary from one country to another. One term which is frequently used in this text is forage. Although the term roughage is used more commonly in the United States it has been replaced with forage in this text. J.K. MATSUSHIMA Fort Collins, January 1979 Contents Chapter 1 Nutrients 1 Proximate Feed Analysis 1 Chemical Classification of Nutrients 2 1.1 Water 3 1.1.1 Drinking Water .... ....

The development of a crop, and therefore its health, is always the result of interplay between biological and environmental factors, as influenced by human agency. In other words, crop health is a highly complex affair. This book is concerned with only one group of agents affecting crop health, the pathogens, and not with animal pests or direct effects of physiological or weather factors. Even within this one group, however, the interaction of causal agents with environmental and biotic factors is highly complex. No less complex is the effect of cultural practices on the crop and its health. There is probably no major practice that does not affect diverse facets of crop growth, which in turn affects crop/pathogen relationships. Thus tillage se­ quentially affects depth and rate of root development, hence nutrient uptake, hence general plant size and habit as well as crop climate and crop susceptibility. Irri­ gation affects all these parameters, and facilitates crop growth under diverse macro­ climatic conditions, with all the ensuing implications for disease development. In this book an attempt is made to superimpose one set of complexities, the cul­ tural practices, on another such set, crop health. This may seem overambitious, not to say foolhardy, unless we remember that it has been done by farmers, consciously or unconsciously, ever since the beginnings of agriculture. We are here chiefly try­ ing to rationalize traditional practices, review modern research on the development of further practices, and assess the place of the latter in integrated disease control.

In keeping with the spirit of an Advanced Series in the Agricultural Sciences, we have attempted to address herein most of the current research areas being used to characterize, describe and manage salt-affected soils. Because of a certain amount of personal bias inherent in our individual viewpoints and backgrounds, some areas have been accorded more emphasis than others. It has been our goal, however, to provide either detail about, or at least a recent reference to, each major area of current soil salinity research. This information, coupled with what we hope to be a rather logical progression from descriptive material on equilibrium or near-equilibrium soil chemistry, through transport processes, to eventual management practices including some elementary economic decisions, should enable the reader to bridge the gap from introductory soil chemistry or soil physics texts to the basic literature of this area. The text will be perceived by the astute reader as somewhat uneven in its treatment of respective sections. We feel that this is to a certain extent appropriate, for it thus portrays the unevenness of progress to date in the corresponding areas of research. The management of saline and sodic soils remains largely an empirical semi-science or even art, whereas transport phenomena are normally dealt with in a much more theoretical (and also a much more highly mathematical) vein. Equilibrium soil chemistry has historically occupied an intermediate position with respect to its mix of empiricism and theoretical rigor.

Much has been learned about the proper and judicious use of fertilizers. Fertilizer application by farmers has grown from an art to a science. As food producers have strived to increase crop yields by overcoming nutrient deficiencies the use of fertil­ izers has increased dramatically. This has created a large chemical industry capable of supplying the needed plant food elements. A more complete understanding of soil chemistry and plant nutrition has led to greater fertilizer use with improved fertilization methods and crop cultural practices. Improved fertilizer technology has led to the production of more efficient forms of fertilizer. The modem fertilizer industry and with it fertilization practices began in the humid countries of the world. The use of fertilizers in arid and semiarid regions was later in development, although agriculture had its beginning in semiarid and arid regions. The development offertilizer use is parallel to industrial development in various areas of the world.

Geoffrey R. Dolby, PhD One of the principal characteristics of a scientific theory is that it be falsifiable. It must contain predictions about the real world which can be put to experimental test. Another very important characteristic of a good theory is that it should take full cognisance of the literature of the discipline in which it is embedded, and that it should be able to explain, at least as well as its competitors, those experimental results which workers in the discipline accept without dispute. Readers of John Parks' book will be left in no doubt that his theory of the feed­ing and growth of animals meets both of the above criteria. The author's knowl­edge of the literature of animal science and the seriousness of his attempt to incorporate the results of much previous work into the framework of the present theory result in a rich and imaginative integration of diverse material concerned with the growth and feeding of animals through time, a theory which is made more precise through the judicious use of mathematics. The presentation is such that the key concepts are introduced gradually and readers not accustomed to a mathematical treatment will find that they can appreciate the ideas without undue trauma. The key concepts are clearly illustrated by means of a generous set of figures. The crux of the theory comprises three differential Eqs. (7. 1-7.

Compared with forces occurring in soil mechanics problems in civil engineering, the forces that are applied to soil in farming operations generally have a short duration, less than a few seconds, a small loaded area, no more than a few square decimeters, and small intensities, 10 bar being a high value. On the other hand, soil properties vary widely between those of a weak mud and a stone-like dry soil. Tillage and related applications of force to soil are practiced worldwide in farming. Tillage operations are performed on one hectare of land for every three human beings. This means that for the food production for each individual daily, something like one cubic meter of soil is stirred, or about 20 times his body weight. Theoretical knowledge of this most common human activity, which largely determines the surface shape of the fertile part of the earth, is still very limited. In this book the authors have tried to give an outline of the present state of the art. One of the starting points was a course in soil dynamics taught by the authors at the Agricultural University at Wageningen, The Netherlands. We hope to reach interested readers who have no more theoretical knowledge than high school level, as well as readers who want to go beyond the level of a third year university student. For the chapter on wheels and tires we received substantial support from F. G. J. Tijink of the Tillage Laboratory at Wageningen.

Energy and agriculture are both extremely broad subjects and their interactions - the subject of this book - cover almost the full spectrum of the agricultural sciences. Yet the subject is a relatively new one whose importance first received widespread recognition barely a decade ago, following the dramatic increase in oil prices during 1973. The impact of this increase was such as to promote a world-wide debate on the future direction that agriculture should take. This debate was, and is, of particular concern in countries where agriculture plays a leading role in economic and social development. During the last half century many national agricultural systems have been transformed from almost closed, self-sufficient systems with few locally produced inputs geared to satisfy local requirements, to intensive, open systems, utilizing large quantities of energy-rich inputs such as fossil fuel for manufactured agro-chemicals, water distribution and imported animal feedstuffs to produce a range of sophisticated products, often for export, which in tum require many energy-rich inputs for their marketing. This industrialization of agriculture has proved to be very successful in many respects and indeed was accepted as a general model for agricultural development allowing increased productivity and efficiency per unit land, labor and water, even in areas with limited natural resources.

The Plant Root and the Rhizosphere was a major topical feature of the first International Symposium on Factors Determining the Behavior of Plant Pathogens in Soil held at the University of California, Berkeley in 1963. The symposium was edited by K. F. Baker and W. C. Snyder and published under the title Ecology of Soil-Borne Plant Pathogens. Since that time, several other international efforts, either on the root-soil interface specifically or on topics relating to the root environment, have provided"a wealth of valuable information basic to promoting the culture of healthier, more productive plants. For the writing of this book, inspiration has come, in large part, from 10 years of cooperative rhizosphere research in association with leading scientists participating in a regional effort within the southern United States. We have attempted to bring together in this work the major aspects of rhizosphere research and the principles of rhizosphere ecology for the benefit of developing young scientists and technologists, as well as for the established professional researcher and teacher. A prime objective and hope is that this volume might generate ideas that will bring forth new approaches and methodology leading to further advances in our understanding of rhizosphere interactions and their implications for agriculture. ' Because of the enormous complexity of the chemical, physical, and microbiological environment of roots, the methods used by various workers are rarely standardized, but must be devised or modified for each experiment.

Properly treated sewage effluent becomes an alternative source of irrigation water, and at the same time it provides a convenient means of sewage disposal through land treatment to prevent potential health and environmental hazards caused by uncontrolled flow of wastewater. The objective of this volume is to provide the reader with a comprehensive up-to-date overview of the principles and practices of irrigation with treated sewage effluent, including special reference to arid quality of the water (e.g. pathogenic organisms, salt, nutrients). The present volume describes the main components of effluent-soil-plant systems involved in the development of appropriate irrigation-fertilization-cropping management for optimizing crop production. Comprehensive information has been suggested on the following subjects: 1. source, treatment and properties of sewage effluent; 2. main processes of different effluent constituents on soil-plant systems; 3. irrigation-fertilization management; 4. irrigation systems for sewage effluent.

Developments in statistics and computing as well as their application to genetic improvement of livestock gained momentum over the last 20 years. This text reviews and consolidates the statistical foundations of animal breeding. This text will prove useful as a reference source to animal breeders, quantitative geneticists and statisticians working in these areas. It will also serve as a text in graduate courses in animal breeding methodology with prerequisite courses in linear models, statistical inference and quantitative genetics.

This book has been written for those whose interests bridge food processing and physicochemical aspects of radiation. It is not intended to be a comprehensive review of publications concerning foods and radiations. Instead, it is an attempt to familiarize the reader with pertinent knowledge of a unified, interdisciplinary concept of various electromagnetic radiations and corresponding effects on foods. Consideration was given to similarities and differ­ ences between various segments of the electromagnetic spectrum. The broad approach of this book was considered to be crucial for cross-discipline comparisons. The reader is introduced to the electromagnetic spectrum in the Prologue and then the book follows the wavelengths, from short to long values. Chapter 1 deals with ionizing radiation: historical background, sources of radiation employed in food treatment, units of measurement, and fundamentals of radiation chemistry. A survey of potential applications of ionizing radiation in food technology is followed by a description of methods for radiation dosimetry. Safety and wholesomeness of irradiated foods, analytical methods for postirradiation dosimetry in foods, and consumer acceptance of food irradiation conclude this section. Chapter 2 intrudes into the next segment of the spectrum: ultra­ violet-visible radiation. The general presentation of this electro­ magnetic emission and illumination source enables the discussion of its effects on foods, including applications in food analysis.

A year has passed since Eshel Bresler, my good friend and colleague, and a member of the editorial board of the Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences, died suddenly while on a visit to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. We had worked together for almost 30 years at the Institute of Soils and Water, ARO, The Volcani Center at Bet Dagan. At the very beginning of our scientific careers we cooperated directly and as a result one of our first publications was coauthored (Soil Sci. 101:205-209, 1966). Thereafter, our specific research interests diver­ sified, but we continued to work together, with similar approaches to research, and to strive towards the development of Israel soil science and its integration into general worldwide scientific progress. I don't need to emphasize Eshel's contribution to the understan­ ding of the processes governing water flow and solute transport pro­ cesses in soils and unsaturated zones. The contributions to this Volume by such a body of outstanding scientists shows the apprecia­ tion of the international scientific community to his research achievements.

Presented here is a comprehensive account of boththeoretical and practical aspects of sugarcane production.The first of two parts of the book deals with origin,distribution, soil and climatic requirements, seed bedpreparation, cultural and nutrient requirements,fertilization, irrigation, ratooning, weeds, pests,diseases, ripening, and harvest. In thesecond part, energyand fibre cane, cane development, and manufacturingtechniques of sugar and by-products are treated in detail.This book will serve as a vademecum for cane growers, sugarand sugarcane technologists, students and teachers.

As the world population increases, there is increasingcompetition for waterquantity as well as quality.Provided here is an up-to-date perspective on AvailableWater Resources (Part I), Water Conservation and TechnologyinAgricultural Systems (Part II), Problem Water Uses andTreatment (Part III),and Management and Policy Evaluation(Part IV).

Hydroponics, the method of growing plants without soil, presents a feasible alternative to conventional farming in areas which are short on water supply and limited in agricultural soil.This book will serve as an indispensable guide for students in the agriculture sciences, for agriculture instructors and soilless-culture farmers. It provides up-to-date information on optimal plant nutrition, deficiencies and toxicities of nutrients, plant growth media, optimal root environment, environmental control, carbon dioxide requirements, saline conditions and use of sewage in soilless culture. Other topics include economic aspects of hydroponics, new growth methods and an outlook for the future.